Guenther Steiner pinpoints why younger F1 drivers are thriving under 2026 regulations

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

"Everything is evolving. And when Max [Verstappen] and his generation came in, they were called the PlayStation drivers. They can use it. And this is the next generation of drivers who can use this technology so much better because they grew up with more technology."

Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead the championship after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. While Russell was the favourite heading into the season, the Briton is now under threat for the title by his team-mate.

Steiner once again pointed to the potential bad habits that could be hindering the 28-year-old driver.

"Going into the season, for me, George was the absolute favourite, even before testing because it was George Russell's moment, but then what happened now with these cars is that Kimi has no old habits, while George has to get rid of some habits.

"He drove the old car for quite a long time. And you're not talking only about the power unit with the EV power and all that stuff, it's also that the aerodynamics are completely different.

"You need to adapt, and for [Kimi], it's much easier. He hasn't got a lot to go back to. For him, everything is new, and he doesn't have to get rid of anything. He doesn't need to put effort into losing some habits.

"He can go and drive the car while the other ones have to get away from the ground effect. The ground effect is not there anymore. And I think as a race car driver, if you have driven the ground effect cars for five years, it is not that you can change from one day to the next and say, 'Oh, this is now different. I just adapt to it.' You always fall back to some habits."

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